Machiavellian Intelligence

Social Expertise and the Evolution of Intellect in Monkeys, Apes, and Humans

Edited by Richard W. Byrne and Andrew Whiten

Description

This book presents an alternative to conventional ideas about the evolution of the human intellect. Instead of placing top priority on the role of tools, the pressure for their skillful use, and the related importance of interpersonal communication as a means for enhanced cooperation, this volume explores quite a different idea-- that the driving force in the evolution of human intellect was social expertise--a force which enabled the manipulation of others within the social group, who themselves are seen as posing the most challenging problems faced by primitive humans. The need to outwit one's clever colleagues then produces an evolutionary spiraling of "Machiavellian intelligence." The book forms a complete and self-contained text on this fast-growing topic. It includes the origins of the basic premise and a wealth of exciting developments, described by an international team of authors from the fields of anthropology, psychology, and zoology. An evaluation of more traditional approaches is also undertaken, with a view to discovering to what extent Machiavellian intelligence represents a complementary concept or one that is truly an alternative. Readers and students will find this fascinating volume carries them to the frontiers of scientific work on the origin of human intellect.

Machiavellian Intelligence

Social Expertise and the Evolution of Intellect in Monkeys, Apes, and Humans

Edited by Richard W. Byrne and Andrew Whiten

Table of Contents

1. Editorial: The Machiavellian Intelligence Hypotheses, Andrew Whiten and Richard ByrnePART I: The Origin of the Idea 2. The Social Function of Intellect, Nicholas Humphrey3. Lemur Social Behaviour and Primate Intelligence, Alison Jolly4. Social Behaviour and Primate Evolution, Michael Chance and Allan Mead5. Taking (Machiavellian) Intelligence Apart, Andrew Whiten and Richard ByrnePART II: What Primates Know About Social Relationships 6. Do Monkeys Understand Their Relationships? Robert Seyfarth and Dorothy Cheney7. Mapping Social Concepts in Monkeys, Verena Dasser8. The CognitiveDemands of Children's Social Interactions with Peers Peter SmithPART III: Social Complexity: The Effect of a Third Party 9. Tripartite Relations in Hamadryas Baboons, Hans Drummer10. Chimpanzee Politics, Frans de Waal11. Alliances in Contests and Social Intelligence, Alexander HarcourtPART IV: Are Primates Mind-Readers? 12. A Group of Young Chimpanzees in a One-Acre Field: Leadership and Communication, Emil Menzel13. "Does the Chimpanzee Have a Theory of Mind" Revisited, David PremackPART V: Deception 15. Tactical Deception of Familiar Individuals in Baboons, Richard Byrne and Andrew Whiten16. The Manipulation of Attention in Primate Tactical Deception, Andrew Whiten and Richard Byrne17. Deception and Social Manipulation in Symbol-Using Apes, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and Kelly McDonald18. The Ontogency of Tactical Deception in Humans, Peter LaFrenierePART VI: Social or Non-Social Origins of Intelligence? 19. Social and Non-Social Knowledge in Vervet Monkeys, Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth20. Tools and the Evolution of Human Intelligence, Thomas Wynn21. Foraging Behaviour and the Evolution of Primate Cognition, Katharine MiltonPART VII: Exploiting the Expertise of Others 22. An Experimental Study of Social Knowledge, Eduard Stammbach23. Invention and Social Transmission, Marc HauserPART VIII: Taking Stock 24. The Experimental Context of Intellect, John Crook25. The Evolution of Purpose, Alison Jolly

Machiavellian Intelligence

Social Expertise and the Evolution of Intellect in Monkeys, Apes, and Humans

Edited by Richard W. Byrne and Andrew Whiten

Reviews and Awards

"Unusually well organized, integrated, and edited, unlike so many haphazard collections of edited papers. The theoretical position is intriguing, and the evidence convincing....The papers are generally excellent." --American Scientist

"In summary, the reader of Machiavellian Intelligence will find the book promising for generating new hypotheses and additional questions about the evolution of intelligence, phylogenetic differences in social intelligence, and sources of selection pressure for attentional manipulation such as deception, to mention just a few. These topics could be explored fruitfully using the book as a reader in an interdisciplinary seminar with graduate students from psychology, anthropology, and zoology and would surely provide for a lively and thoughtful exchange of ideas and opinions. Clearly the topic of primate social intelligence, enthusiastically launched by this collection of writings, offers much tinder for future research." --International Journal of Primatology